


Closer Than You Think

by scifinut



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-08
Updated: 2011-09-08
Packaged: 2017-10-23 12:53:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/250514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scifinut/pseuds/scifinut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sarah Jane runs into an unexpected friend at the market. She calls Torchwood in, and they all bring the Doctor to the table for an explanation.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Closer Than You Think

The phone rang. And as usual, it was from Luke. "Yes, Luke?" she answered, keeping an eye on the road.

"Mum, what are we having for dinner? I mean, the kitchen's empty. You said there'd be food by the time I got home from school."

Damn. Another thing she had forgotten. "I know, Luke, and I'm sorry. There's some money under the bread box, use that and get something. I had to go downtown today and haven't been home yet. I'm on my way, I'll just stop by and get something from the grocer's." She thought for a moment, realizing it was Friday. "What would you like for breakfast tomorrow? Or supper? I'll pick it up for you." Sarah Jane was glad that her son was relatively laid back when it came to food. At least, as long as he had some. Otherwise it wasn't pretty.

There was silence for a minute on the other end of the line. "How about waffles and bacon for breakfast, and then you can pick what's for dinner?"

Another term for I hadn't planned that far ahead yet. "Sure thing. And don't go overboard on dinner tonight. Just ONE pizza, I don't care if Clyde and Rani are both over." Leaving Luke to wonder how she knew things so well, she continued. "I've got to go, Luke, the roads aren't exactly nice this time of day. I'll talk to you when I get home."

"Bye, mum."

She hung up and concentrated on driving. The market in Chiswick was going to be the closest on her way home, and it was fairly reasonably priced as well. Perfect for picking up a weekend's worth of groceries to take home to three growing children.

Sarah Jane went into the store to pick up a few things and ended up in line with someone who looked extremely familiar. However, she'd been in the situation where she'd been mistaken for someone else, and it was always awkward, especially with as long as the lines were. The girl was staring at one of the tabloid magazines. "Anything interesting this week?" Sarah Jane asked.

The girl looked up. "Always something interesting. Have you heard what Jordan's done now?" she asked, picking up a copy of The Metro.

"Oh, probably gone of and done something she shouldn't have. Again." Sarah Jane really had no idea, but with the tabloids, there was always some scandal involved. "What is it this time? Marriage falling apart? Sex scandal?"

The girl started laughing. "Both, actually, believe it or not." She waved the cover of the paper out in front of Sarah Jane. "It seems even perfection falls apart."

They both got through at the same time, and kept chatting amicably on the way out the door, when their conversation was cut short by someone driving a small blue car. "Donna, hurry up! Your grandpa's waiting at home for dinner. How long does it take to get a few things, anyway? And of course, a tabloid. I might as well have figured."

Sarah Jane smiled at the woman. "Good luck. It sounds like you'll need it. And nice chatting!"

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Donna replied.

It wasn't until she got to the car that Sarah Jane allowed the surprise to show on her face. She shook her head and was instantly determined to figure out what was going on. Surely it couldn't be the same Donna. She was with the Doctor. And she hadn't shown any sign of recognition at all. After saving the world, you didn't just forget someone entirely.

When she got home, Sarah Jane put the food away and greeted the children. "I'm going up to do some work. You three behave yourselves, alright?"

Luke noticed the look on his mother's face. "Everything alright, mum?"

She put on her bravest smile. "Everything is fine. I remembered something today that I've been meaning to do for a while now. I've just got to go do the work." She looked over at Clyde and Rani. "Old friends, nothing to worry about. I promise."

She could only hope they'd believe her, or at least have enough faith to leave her be about it. And they did, surprisingly. She booted up her laptop and Mr. Smith, and found out all about Donna Noble, local temp. Who had apparently been working again since the world had been saved. And was still living at home with her mother.

"Mr. Smith, I want you to give me the Doctor's mobile number. I'm going to give that man a talking to like he's never had before." She waited for the number to be displayed, then dialled.

It was several rings before a voice on the other line answered somewhat blearily. "Uhm, hello?"

"Doctor, you'd better have an explanation ready by the time I'm finished speaking. You'll never GUESS who I ran into at the market today. Lovely young lady named Donna Noble. She was chatting me up in line about the latest bit of gossip, didn't seem to recognize me at all. Which I found somewhat odd, since not months ago we were saving the world together and taking turns being snogged by Captain Harkness all in your TARDIS."

There was a moment of silence on the other end. "Sarah Jane? Is that you?"

Sarah Jane could hear the bleariness in his voice, but she was already on the motherly rampage, and nothing was going to stop her until she got what she wanted. An explanation. "Yes, it's me. Why, hello, Doctor, how are you? So sorry to have woken you, except for the small bit of me that's really not sorry at all and is still waiting for an explanation."

The Doctor sighed. "It's complicated, Sarah Jane. Leave her be. Don't you dare tell her anything and you'll be saving her life."

"That's just about the worst explanation I've heard, even from you! And don't you forget that I'm also raising a teenager, I've heard quite a few." She was perfectly familiar with the way the Doctor had of evading the whole truth, he'd been doing it for as long as she could remember. "You tell me what happened, and don't tone it down just because I'm a human. Tell me what's going on. Right now."

"I'm telling you, Sarah Jane, it's best to leave it alone. I don't want you getting any ideas into your head about saving her. It can't be done. Let it go. She's not the Donna you met, and she never can be again." He sighed. This was not a discussion to have over the telephone, especially in the middle of the night. "I'm going back to bed, Sarah Jane. Leave it be. Raise your son, there are more important things to think about." He hung up the phone before anything else could happen, and then turned it off.

Sarah Jane stared at the phone in her hands angrily. How DARE he do this? First abandoning Donna, and apparently clearing her entire memory, not telling anyone, and now treating her like this! In a fit of indignation, she dialled the first number that came to mind as far as people who would know how to deal with this.

"Sarah Jane Smith, wasn't expecting to hear from you again any time soon. Get lonely over in London without me?"

"Jack Harkness, I wasn't expecting to have to call you. And no, it's not lonely. You'll never guess who I happened to run into today at the market."

Jack chuckled. "Well, I could always pull up the CCTV records and check, but that would take too much time, and while I've got you on the phone, you might as well already tell me." He could tell by the sound of her voice that this wasn't a regular social call, but wasn't sure how bad the situation was at this point. And when the situation was in any doubt, it was best to play it as lightly as possible.

"A lovely young temp from Chiswick. Donna Noble, I believe her name was. Funny thing is, she didn't recognize me. And when I called the Doctor asking about it, I got the brush off. Do you have any idea what's going on?" There was an icy fury behind her voice, directed at the situation more than Jack.

"I hadn't heard a word about it. Are you sure it was her?" He sat forward and started working on pulling up files through his computer, trying to confirm what Sarah Jane was saying.

"Yes, I had Mr. Smith do a check and ran through it myself. I'm sure it was her, Jack. Positively certain of it. And all he told me was to leave her alone and that it would be saving her life." She took a deep breath. "I'm not trying to be upset with you, Jack, but anything you can tell me would be excellent."

Jack nodded, looking at likely the same data Sarah Jane had seen. "I know. And I'm just as surprised as you are. I could call him for you, try to get something else out of him. And I'm also going to call Martha, let her know what's going on." He typed a few things into the window and sent a quick email asking Mickey to come see him in ten minutes.

"Thank you, Jack. And let me know what you find out, will you? I mean, she's just up the street from me, I'd like to know what's going on."

"Always the mother, you are. How's that boy of yours, anyway? Ready to come work for us yet?" There was a smile in Jack's voice, trying to lighten the mood.

"Still in school, and there is no way, Captain Harkness. You know that. He's doing well, though, thanks for asking." She smiled again, relaxing in the fact that Jack was on it now too. It wasn't just her going crazy.

"Alright, I'll get back to you as soon as I know anything. You take care, ma'am."

\----------------

Mickey stepped into Jack's office. "You wanted to see me?"

"Come on in, have a seat." Jack waited until Mickey had seated himself before he started talking again. "Don't look so scared, you're not in any sort of trouble. Unless you've gotten on Ianto's bad side, and even I can't help you with that one." He smiled and paused. "Teasing, you can laugh. Anyway, there is a bit of a situation. It seems that the Doctor has taken Donna's memory and left her on Earth for some reason. Sarah Jane ran into her and apparently was a bit upset when she wasn't recognized."

"You'd think Donna would at least notice that she's looking into an ageing mirror," Mickey commented. "I mean, they're like, identical!"

Jack chuckled again. "I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice that, thanks. Anyway, I'm getting a hold of Martha to let her know what's going on, and then calling the Doctor to ask for some answers." He paused. "I figured I might as well tell you, since you know her and all."

Mickey stood up. "Good. And, um...about the coffeemaker...I swear, I didn't mean to!" He ran out of Jack's office and out the stairs on his way home before Jack could even ask what happened to the coffeemaker.

With a shrug, Jack dialled Martha's number, but nobody answered. "Hey, Martha, it's Jack. Listen, just wanted to let you know about something regarding our trip a few months back. Give me a call, okay? Take care." On the answering machine was not the right place to say something like that. The next number he dialled was the Doctor's mobile, but he was surprised when it went to answering service too. "I don't even know if you ever check this, let alone if it actually works...but it's Jack. Look, I've got something that I need to talk about. Like, pretty important. Give me a call back? Please?" He hung up and waited.

\----------------

When nobody had heard back from the Doctor within three weeks, Sarah Jane called a meeting. Martha and all of Torchwood Three showed up at her house one evening to discuss options. Unfortunately, there was a scarcity of ideas, short of telling Donna and trying to lure him out that way. And with the only information about her situation being that it would kill her, the idea was quickly thrown out.

Jack was trying Sarah Jane's sonic lipstick to fix his vortex manipulator, but it didn't seem likely. Martha had gone off with Ianto to discuss some possibilities of UNIT technology being able to find the Doctor, and maybe with the Rift Manipulator and Jack's Vortex Manipulator, they could go find him.

"I think we're doing this all wrong," Luke spoke up. He had been quiet for most of the evening, listening and minding himself very well. "Why are we thinking about how to get to the Doctor? We have the base code for the TARDIS upstairs. We have K9 to connect to it. Can't we make him come here?"

There was a stunned silence in the room. "I think you're onto something there," Jack said. "Luring him in won't work because he knows us. He won't fall for it. But dragging him in against his will?" He smiled up at Sarah Jane. "And you said he wouldn't fit in with Torchwood. I'm telling you, Luke, you'll go far."

Sarah Jane rolled her eyes and shook her head, smiling. "He won't go far with you without a lot of supervision. Now come on, everyone. Let's head up stairs and see if Mr. Smith can help us."

In the end, they only had to wait a matter of minutes. Mr. Smith had connected with K9 and programmed the TARDIS to return to Sarah Jane's back yard the next time it was activated, and with a certain time stamp set, it wasn't going to be difficult. And then he'd have to come face the firing squad.

\----------------

"Oh, come on! What are you doing? This isn't where we're supposed to be going! Why London? I wanted to see the beaches! Sand and sun, not fog and rain!" He kicked a panel. "And now you're sulking? Won't even turn on for me. Maybe I'll go off sulking too, see how much you like it! It'll do you good to be left alone for a bit, I think." He stepped out the door, still talking over his shoulder to the machine. "See how you'll feel when I don't come back for some time."

"Actually, Doctor, we all already know the feeling." Jack stood beside Sarah Jane in the front of the group, arms folded. "Welcome to our party. Sorry for hijacking your ship, but that's what happens when you don't answer your phone."

"And you've got quite a bit of explaining to do. Not the least of all hanging up on me," Sarah Jane continued for him.

The Doctor turned back to head into the TARDIS, but the door wouldn't open for him. "What have you done to her?!" he shouted, looking at the group.

"Mr. Smith locked the doors. He won't let them go until mum tells him to release them," Luke responded brightly before realizing it probably wasn't the right thing to say. He stepped back into the group.

"So you've got me here. What now?" The Doctor wasn't used to being bullied like this, but there was nothing he could do. He wasn't about to hurt his friends, regardless of what they had done to him.

"Now, I believe, we all go sit down and have a nice chat about how things have been going since last time we all saw each other," Martha said heading for the door. "I think Ianto's getting the coffee ready, and Gwen's helping him. Should be about done by now."

Sarah Jane stayed behind after everyone else had walked in. She was still glaring coldly at the Doctor. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" he asked. She nodded before pointing to the door silently.

Everyone was sitting around the living room with plenty of seats open. The Doctor chose the one furthest away from the group and settled himself in. "Let me guess. This is about Donna." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Listen. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I saved her life." There was no response from the room. "Why can't you all leave well enough alone?! If I tell you, you'll want to help her. And I'm telling you, there IS no help for her. She's alive. Leave it at that!"

Sarah Jane glared at him. "Have you SEEN her, Doctor? The person she's become? I don't know what you did, but she's not the woman I met. When I met Donna, she was intelligent and caring. She saw the big picture! Now she's reduced to being yelled at by her mother and worrying about the latest celebrity scandal!" She threw her hands into the air. "Doctor, she saved the world! Several of them! Think of the things she's done and seen. And she doesn't remember a bit of it!"

The Doctor stood up and leaned toward the group, raising his voice. "Do you think I don't know that? She had ME in her. She knew EVERYTHING, more than any of you might ever imagine! And it was killing her. _I_ was killing her! I did the only thing I could do to save her life. D'you think it was what I _wanted_ to do? Do you honestly think that it was something I _enjoyed_?!" He stared at each of them in turn, fire burning in his eyes. "I had to destroy something that will _never_ happen again. Something one of a kind! And no, I didn't tell you, because Donna doesn't need you trying to interfere! She needs you all to stay away and never tell her anything about what happened, do you understand?!"

There was silence in the room. The Doctor was breathing heavily after his rampage, but calming down. Sarah Jane was the first to speak, her voice hard and brittle. "What choice did you give her in the matter?" Her eyes narrowed.

"There was no choice. It was life or death for her."

"Do you honestly think she'd prefer this life?" Gwen spoke up. "I can't say I've ever travelled the stars, but I've seen some pretty amazing things, and if I had the choice between life without it and death with my memory intact, I'd rather die happy."

Jack glared angrily at the Doctor. "You're no better than anyone else. You do what you think is right, but don't stop to take anyone else's thoughts into consideration, do you? You've left Sarah Jane behind. You did it to me more than once. Is that all we are to you, throwaway toys, discarded when we're not perfect anymore?"

Something in the Doctor broke at that. All the fight went out of him and he sat on the chair hanging his head. "It's not like that, Jack. You of all people should know. You worked for the Time Agency. Nothing lasts forever. I'm the closest there is. I have to say goodbye."

Luke stepped forward and put his hand on the Doctor's shoulder. He looked back at everyone else in the room, then knelt down. "I don't think he meant it like that. And I think part of why everyone's so upset is because you've been avoiding them. It's been bothering mum for almost a month now. She hasn't been thinking about anything else. She's just trying to understand why you did it."

The Doctor looked up at Luke and gave him a halfhearted smile. "She is persistent like that. Hard to forget the single minded determination she carries around." He took a breath. "But they're right, Luke." He clapped the boy's hand and sat up straight again. "I'm sorry. To each and every one of you. I'm not perfect. People die around me. And get hurt. And changed. Bad things happen to people who know me." He paused. "I guess I'm old. I see things differently. Life should be preserved. Donna's human brain can't handle even half of a Time Lord's memories. She was burning out. I had to erase the memories to save her life. Leave her be if you want her to live. If she remembers, it's a matter of days before she's dead."

Jack snorted. "Here you are, thinking you're old. You're what, nine hundred? I've got millenia on you, so don't play the age card. And don't try to tell me about lasting forever, either. Gwen's right. You should have given her a choice. The Donna I met would have rather died in your arms then go back to how she was, how she is now."

Sarah Jane nodded in agreement. "It's her life. You should have let her live it as she chooses. When I met Donna, she was alive, vibrant. She was cheeky! Now, she's just...empty. Keeping the body alive but destroying the mind is only half a life, and by far not the better half. And even if it _was_ what she wanted, did you honestly think we'd never find out? She lives practically right down the street!"

Martha had been quiet the whole time, saving her piece. "You're afraid, aren't you?" Her voice was soft, and she stepped forward to squat beside Luke. "You're afraid of hearing what she wants. Afraid that it might hurt."

"It already does," the Doctor whispered. He looked up straight into her eyes. "What are you getting at?"

"I made the choice, and you let me. I left my family behind. I left you and Jack behind. I could have died, and you knew that. There was only a key protecting me. If that hadn't worked, where would we be? I made a choice to risk my life with knowledge. You let me." She spoke loud enough that everyone could hear, but she knew that only Jack would understand.

"That's completely different," argued the Doctor. "I couldn't do anything. There were lives at stake. Millions. Billions of them! How can you even compare you two like that?"

"Because it's true," Martha continued. "I had knowledge, I chose to take my life into my own hands with it. She had knowledge, and you took the choice away from her."

The Doctor surprised everyone in the room by pushing Martha away from him. "Entirely different situations. Even you know it. Don't even try to compare the two again. Donna's already saved the world, nobody's asking her to do it again. It's not life and death like that. If she remembers, she dies. Within a day. Fact. You had a chance to survive, and you did. Fact. No connection between the two. Fact." His voice was raised again, in anger and pain.

Martha sighed and stepped away, shaking her head. "At least I'm trying to make some sense of what you did!" she argued. "You don't seem to be doing a very good job of it."

"I did what I had to do. Donna's still alive. I made a promise and I kept it, for once. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm done being interrogated." He stood up and stalked toward the front door. He knew he couldn't get back into the TARDIS, but for now anywhere away from here would work.

The Doctor walked. He didn't have any particular destination, but he had to get away from all the accusations flying around. None of this should have concerned them. It was his own personal business. He had, in a way, killed a bit of himself doing what he had done. First he had to leave himself behind with Rose, then he had to kill another part of himself in Donna and keep it locked away forever. Anything else would kill her. His memories would kill her. He would kill her.

The evenings were coming on early, but luckily he had his jacket pulled around him to keep him warm. And after some time he found himself in a small shopping area. There was a pub nearby, and he was quite hungry. There wasn't exactly a lot of food in coffee, no matter how good it was, and he hadn't had much time to drink between bouts of defending himself. Pub food wasn't the greatest, but some chips would at least keep him going for a while.

"Chips and ale, please," he ordered as he sat at the bar. There were several crowds around him at the tables. Friends were out gossipping, getting together after work. It was actually a nice little place they had going for them. Everyone was so relaxed, the music wasn't too loud, and there wasn't allowed anymore, thankfully.

"Oi! Another round for us!" shouted a familiar voice off to his side.

The Doctor turned and was stunned to be face to face with an old friend. "Donna Noble, how fantastic!" he said before he could stop himself.

"I'm sorry...do I know you?" She looked at him with a confused look, trying to think.

He shook his head. "No, sorry. John Smith, I brought you home after your concussion. Looks like you're doing well with yourself these days." He gave her a smile, but it didn't quite get to his eyes.

She smiled back at him. "Oh, right. Thanks for that, by the way." She picked up the drinks and turned back to her table.

"One thing, if you don't mind me asking. Are you happy?" There was a pause as she turned to stare at him. "I know it's odd...but I'd like to think you're happy since I saved you."

This time Donna's smile was even brighter. "Of course I am! I got my life back, right? I mean, mum says I may never remember that year I'm missing, but I'm alive and I've got my mates. Cheers, Mr. Smith!" She lifted a drink to him and took a drink before heading back to the table.

"Well," he said to himself, paying the tab. "That's that. Time to head back to the firing squad." This time, though, he didn't want to walk back alone in the gathering dark, so he headed to a bus station and stared at the map, trying to understand it. After a while he gave up and pulled out his mobile and dialled a number. "Mickey! How are you? Listen, I need some help. I'm...um...at Feltham? I need to get back."

"Doctor? Where's Feltham, and where do you need to get back to?" Mickey sounded very confused at this point.

"Feltham. That's what it says on the bus terminal. And back. To Sarah Jane's." He hadn't thought about remembering where that was when he was leaving.

"I thought you were at Sarah Jane's. Where the hell is Feltham? And what are you doing there?" He had tried to stay away from this, he didn't want to get caught up between Jack and the Doctor. "Look, I'm busy right now, but I'll have someone there to pick you up, okay?"

"Mickey, please...I really don't want...did he just hang up on me?" The Doctor looked at his phone in shock. "He did!" He sighed and flipped the phone shut. There was nothing to do now but wait, really. Someone would be here eventually. So he took a seat on the ground and waited.

Within ten minutes a small green car pulled up and honked its horn. Luke popped out of the passenger door and headed over. "Come on, mum came to pick you up. I promise, though, it'll be a nice civil ride home." He smiled and offered the Doctor a hand up. "Did you eat already? We ordered some Thai at home, and I made sure to save you some, just in case you hadn't eaten anything."

The Doctor smiled and took Luke's hand. "Thank you, Luke Smith. You're a fine young man." He climbed into the car, where there was a quiet, if not slightly uncomfortable drive back to Sarah Jane's house. "Thanks for coming to get me," the Doctor said to her as they went inside. He smiled a bit at her. "You're still fantastic." When she didn't respond, he walked in and sat down again in the chair he had been in before.

"I suppose you've all been talking about me while I've been gone. And as much as I can say I don't care, I'm not sure how many of you would believe it." He took a breath, looking at everyone in turn. "The fact that you've all managed to get me here and care so much should say a lot about you. It does say a lot about you. You're a brilliant lot. But there are some things that just can't be explained.

"When I met Donna the first time, she wasn't brilliant. She was loud. She was rude. And she didn't really know much of anything. But she was brave. And she left. And I left it at that.

"The next time I met her, we tried to save the world and the Adipose. And we saved the world. And the Adipose went home. And before she came with me, I met her grandfather. Well, actually, I'd met him before, but just never knew it. But I gave him a promise. I gave my word that I would return his granddaughter home safely if it was at all possible." There was another pause, and the Doctor looked up again. "I kept my word. And I don't expect any of you to understand what it means to give my word as a Time Lord. But I _had_ to take her back. I had to save her."

"But Doctor-" Sarah Jane started in, but she was silenced by his hand.

"I'm not finished. You don't understand the metacrisis, how dangerous it is. It's dangerous between two Time Lords, it was only used as an absolute last resort, when nothing else would work. Even then, many times one or both died. Hardly a safe option, and if I had known that it was even POSSIBLE to get into that situation, I would have done everything I could have to avoid it. But it happened. But you don't understand...the metacrisis was killing her. It was MY memories. It was MY regeneration energy. If she had died, it would have been ME killing her. You can argue the particulars all you want, but it was Time Lord genetic information killing her, and the genetic information came from me. I pulled the trigger, and I did all I could to stop the bleeding." He took another breath. "While I was out at the pub, I ran into Donna. And I asked her a question. If she was happy. And she is." His voice was starting to get slightly choked. "None of you know how much I wish I could do something for her. But I can't. She's happy. I kept my word, and she's still alive. And that's all I have to say on the issue. If you want to keep her alive and happy, then let it go."

There was silence in the room as everyone thought about what had been said. "You can't blame yourself," Gwen started in. "The metacrisis, it saved all of creation! It was an accident that made it happen."

Sarah Jane stepped forward to the Doctor and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You could have told us, you know," she said. "You're not nearly as alone as you like to think. And if we had known what had happened, this wouldn't have happened."

"If I told you, you would have tried to fix her. You'd have killed her. They'd blame me. I'd blame me."

"Don't be an idiot," Jack replied, also stepping forward and perching on the arm of the chair. "We're smarter than you give us credit for. We might keep an eye on Donna, make sure she's doing well, but we're not going to endanger her life by telling her something. Humans can be discreet, you know."

"You must be the exception to the rule, then," Martha teased Jack. "But Doctor, Sarah Jane's right. This whole time you've been alone and Donna's been here, and we've all been thinking she was still out there with you. Kind of a big surprise to find out she's not."

Ianto took his turn to step forward. "I don't think it's our place to tell him what to do." He stared at Jack's raised eyebrow. "He's the Doctor. He's been alone before, and he was trying to save her. It's not exactly something everyone needs to know about." He seemed not to notice anyone else in the room. "Best to ask for forgiveness afterwards than be turned down for permission beforehand. Especially in a situation where you know what the person you're asking is going to say."

Jack slowly nodded and Gwen came up to Ianto, putting a hand on his arm and breaking his gaze with Jack. Everyone else in the room was left wondering what had really been said, but it was working its way into their heads.

"Look," the Doctor said, "I'm sorry. I did what I had to. But it's over now."

One corner of Martha's mouth curled up into a grin. "I say it's up to the jury to decide. What do you say, jury?"

A chorus of "Not guilty," came from the group. Martha spoke again. "So now it's time for the sentencing phase."

"What is this, am I on trial now?"

"You've been on trial all day. When you left it was deliberation. There were just some last minute arguments to be heard, I suppose," Luke said, grinning. "Now we have to decide what to do. I volunteer myself."

Sarah Jane glared at her son. "No, Luke. I'm not going to let you, and you know it."

Jack smiled. "Luke, you're really looking to get out of here, aren't you? I'm telling you now, there's always a place on the team on Cardiff for you. OW! Why'd you hit me in the head?"

Gwen laughed. "Jack, no means no. No does not mean yes. At all. And I nominate you."

The Doctor looked around suspiciously. "I don't think I like where this is going. Who's being nominated for what?"

"You're much better off with someone around, Doctor. And since you're still alone after this long, we've decided to find a companion for you. Of course, there's a distinct lack of people who qualify, so it's small pool." Martha seemed pleased with herself.

"Oi! Maybe I'd prefer to be alone! Who says you lot get to decide who comes with me?"

Gwen's head bowed to hide her laughter. "Actually, they said so. Said since they'd already been with you, they'd know who to look for. Who else to look for someone to keep you company? Besides, they're trying to help. That's got to count for something."

The Doctor looked up, suddenly smiling. "It counts for everything. They're doing exactly what I did. Maybe it wasn't the right thing, but I was trying to help." He looked at Sarah Jane pitifully. "Now can I have my car back, mom? Pretty please?"

She smiled and ruffled his hair. "Tomorrow. You look terrible. I'm not letting you out of the house until I've seen you have a proper meal and a proper rest."

The Doctor leaned into Sarah Jane's embrace, finally allowing himself to relax. He was forgiven, after all. And still surrounded by his friends.


End file.
